One of the most magnificent war reporting I ever saw was the way , in some battle, how our Tanks attacked and just blew away the Iraquis. I don't remember what battle or battles it was/were I saw, but I taped in on a show about Desert Storm. It was just amazing. This was war as I understand war. Not overwhelming air superiority just blasting away at relatively defenseless and blind targets; but our tanks and crew against battle-ready tanks and crew.

I'm sure you know much more about this than do I, and I don't mean to awaken bad memories, but the magnificence of our Tanks, and their actual battles, in the Gulf War, was mesmerizing to me.

I actually missed the entire ground war. I was on a scuba diving live-aboard in the Turks & Caicos Islands during the entire period of the ground war, and when the boat docked, we learned that the war was over. I have taped several specials, though, on TV.

I certainly noted that the military kept a strong arm on the reporters, having learned a lesson in Vietnam.

Friendly fire is always a problem in any war, and is usually swept under the carpet, as it probably should be. I felt bad for the pilots who had to re-live the horror of blowing up one of our tanks on national TV. I am all for realistic reporting of the horrors of war, but these things happen. These men were doing their best for their country. They were under stress. Mistakes happened, not necessarily of their making. They have to live with the largely unearned guilt of this for the rest of their lives anyway, and I wasn't impressed with having it put on national TV.

I do believe reporters should know the facts, to the extent that it won't compromise the war itself, or lives, but with such knowledge should come some sense of responsibility, and I thought this in-depth reporting of deaths by friendly fire was somewhat irresponsible, under the circumstances. I don't know how you feel about this, and Desert Storm was an entirely different war than Vietnam, but barring some perspective from someone such as youself who actually knew what the war was like, as I knew of what some aspects of the Vietnam war were like, I wasn't pleased by this reporting. I assume you know what I'm referring to. As a victim, you may feel differently. I don't know, and feel free to e-mail me if you do, or if you don't.

When I was in the military, I was just amazed at how powerful explosives actually are. I couldn't believe it. Rockets which would miss our base entirely would cause vibration, and the noise. Whew. It was one of the most startling things about the military to me, accustomed as I was to how explosives are depicted in movies.

I can only imagine what it must have been like, and must still be like, to command the tanks we now have. Do you use the Abrams? the M-60? I don't really know what we might have with refinements now, and maybe you can' t disclose it, anyway. I do enjoy tanks and such, though.

It's been so long since I read about Barsoon that I don'r recall if the radium rifles were ever "big-bore" guns, or if such were described or detailed. What with the explosive nature of the rifles, they were probably in there. It's just been too long since I read them, and I'm in the middle of a jungle-type adventure book.

Talk about long-winded.

Tarak